The Market Acceptance and Welfare Impacts of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs)

The paper develops a theoretical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers to examine the market and welfare effects of the introduction of variety-level genetic use restriction technologies (V-GURTs) under the current No-Labeling regime of GMPs in the US market. Specifically, the study examines how the agronomic characteristics of GURTs, consumer perceptions and preferences regarding interventions in the production process (i.e., genetic modification) and producer cost structures (e.g., dependency on saving seed) affect the adoption of the technology by producers, the market acceptance of GURTs by consumers and consequently the innovator's incentive to introduce the new technology. Analytical results show that the introduction of GURTs may be welfare enhancing for consumers, producers and innovating firms when consumer aversion to GURTs is low, the agronomic benefits of the GURTs crop are high, and the expected penalty producers face when they cheat on their GM licensing agreements (e.g., due to inefficient or costly monitoring)is low.Consumer/Household Economics,

The market acceptance and welfare impacts of genetic use restriction technologies (GURTS)

The paper develops a theoretical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers to examine the market and welfare effects of the introduction of variety-level genetic use restriction technologies (V-GURTs) under the current No-Labeling regime of GMPs in the US market. Specifically, the study examines how the agronomic characteristics of GURTs, consumer perceptions and preferences regarding interventions in the production process (i.e., genetic modification) and producer cost structures (e.g., dependency on saving seed) affect the adoption of the technology by producers, the market acceptance of GURTs by consumers and consequently the innovator's incentive to introduce the new technology. Analytical results show that the introduction of GURTs may be welfare enhancing for consumers, producers and innovating firms when consumer aversion to GURTs is low, the agronomic benefits of the GURTs crop are high, and the expected penalty producers face when they cheat on their GM licensing agreements (e.g., due to inefficient or costly monitoring) is low.genetic use restriction technologies, genetic modification, producer and consumer welfare, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Strain-controlled correlation effects in self-assembled quantum dot stacks

We show that elastic interactions of an array of self-assembled quantum dots in a parent material matrix are markedly distinct from the elastic field created by a single point defect, and can explain the observed abrupt correlation--anticorrelation transition in semiconductor quantum dot stacks. Finite volume effects of the quantum dots are shown to lead to sharper transitions. Our analysis also predicts the inclination angle under which the alignment in successive quantum dot layers occurs in dependence on the material anisotropy

Christianity, language contact and language change

In this paper, I argued that conversion to Christianity and Christian practice provide a context for linguistic contact between the vernacular language of the converted population and the ecclesiastic language. This contact, as any other language contact, can trigger language change. Moreover, because religious affiliation often provokes the division of social space, it is responsible for the development of strong social-indexical characteristics of innovative features introduced through contact. I suggested a gradual model of language change which implies that the change will first occur and stabilize in ecclesiastic genres and only then spread to the standard or to other varieties. I also emphasized the role of translation in this process. I provided examples of several case studies of change in vocabulary (colonial Maya), morphology (European languages, Latin), and pragmatics (Bosavi). The discussion of examples of syntactic change in Mano, where certain innovations introduced in the situation of contact in Christian context failed to stabilize, suggests that the variability of the ecclesiastic register is the factor impeding the spread of innovations. The model of language change in contact applied in this paper which takes into account the sociolinguistic landscape, as well as such factors as distribution of variants in different registers, can contribute to the studies of language contact and change beyond the Christian context.Non peer reviewe

A sketch of dialectal variation in Mano

This paper gives a preliminary account of the dialectal situation of Mano, a South Mande language. Mano has at least three varieties in Guinea and three varieties in Liberia. The focus of the paper is a comparison between the central Guinean dialect, Maa, and the southernmost Liberian variety, with some additional information from other Guinean and Liberian varieties. Some patterns of variation in phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon are presented. The paper argues that some of the dialectal differences in Mano could be explained by different contact situations: while in the North, and especially in Guinea, Mano is influenced by Kpelle, which was in turn influenced by Manding, in the South of Liberia, Mano is influenced by Dan. The patterns of spread of common Mano – Kpelle – Manding vocabulary show a complex multilayered picture of horizontal contact between Mano and Kpelle and across different dialects, of old contact with Manding via trade and a more recent introduction of Manding borrowings intensified (or motivated) by the translation practices of the Guinean missionaries and limited by political borders between Guinea and Liberia.Peer reviewe

The Aorist and the Perfect in Mano

The foci of this paper are the semantic differences between two perfective constructions in the Mano language, the Aorist and the Perfect. The paper is based on Östen Dahl’s classic questionnaire, as well as various sources of natural speech data, including narratives, routine conversations, and ritual speech, Christian and traditional. The core semantic property of the Mano Perfect is event relevance, which isconfirmed by the annulled result test. The core function of the Aorist is being the narrative tense. The paper also includes discussion of two secondary functions of the Perfect and the Aorist, namely, anticipation of future events and transposition to the past. The secondary functions confirm the basic distinction between the Aorist and the Perfect, the latter maintaining a closer connection with the reference point.Peer reviewe

Stochastic model of dispersive multi-step polarization switching in ferroelectrics due to spatial electric field distribution

A stochastic model for polarization switching in tetragonal ferroelectric ceramics is introduced, which includes sequential 90{\deg}- and parallel 180{\deg}-switching processes and accounts for the dispersion of characteristic switching times due to a nonuniform spatial distribution of the applied field. It presents merging of the recent multistep stochastic mechanism (MSM) with the earlier nucleation limited switching (NLS) and inhomogeneous field mechanism (IFM) models. The new model provides a much better description of simultaneous polarization and strain responses over a wide time window and a deeper insight into the microscopic switching mechanisms, as is exemplarily shown by comparison with measurements on lead zirconate titanate.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Water pollution and waste management in Spain and Armenia

During last years the ecological problems increasingly recognized as a crucial process for humanity in all over the world. A great number of emerging pollutants have been found in the atmosphere, the drinking water resources, wastewater and sewage system, marine ecosystems, and in human and animal organisms. To prevent this problem, it is very important to develop relevant strategies and policy for sustainable waste management providing health and clean environment. Hence, the accurate and targeted waste management will assist to overcome many of difficulties in contemporary life. Waste management is an important issue which impacts on different features of economy and society. The key attention of this thesis is focused on Spain and Armenia that gave an opportunity to study the relevant issues and problems on waste management. This thesis presents a comparative study that observes the differences of waste management accomplishment and legislative frameworks in a developed country (Spain) and a developing country (Armenia). Therefore, through analyzing of the waste-use problems in these countries it is possible to recognize the ways of proper and effective waste management

Common ground in demonstrative reference : the case of Mano (Mande)

That demonstratives often have endophoric functions marking referents outside the physical space of interaction accessible through cognition, especially memory, is well known. However, these functions are often classified as independent from exophoric ones and are typically seen as secondary with respect to spatial deixis. However, data from multiple languages shows that cognitive access to referents functions alongside with perceptual access, including vision. Cognitive access is enabled by prior interactions and prior familiarity with the referents. As a result of such interactions, the interlocutors share a great deal of knowledge about the referents which allows them locate even invisible objects but also facilitates reference to objects in the interactive field. Thus, in some languages, exophoric uses are not opposed to, but become routinely merged with endophoric ones and perceptual access gets merged with cognitive access. I illustrate this idea throughout the paper by using first-hand data from Mano. Adding another argument in favor of viewing demonstrative reference as a social, interactive process, the Mano data pushes the idea of salience of non-spatial parameters further and emphasized the importance of long-term interactional history both for the choice of demonstratives in exophoric reference and for the encoded distinctions in the demonstrative paradigm.Peer reviewe